+5 composure, I'm fairly sure that doesn't have any impact on how he plays in big matches but hopefully I'm wrong and it helps him deal with the pressure.
Championship Day. We still have a shot at promotion, but we would need a miracle at this point. Here is what needs to happen:
1. Canvey Islands, my former team, needs to lose to 19th ranked Potters Bar.
2. Grays needs to lose or draw against table leaders Coggeshall.
3. We have to beat 5th ranked FC Romania and then we have to win a coin flip tiebreaker with Canvey Island.
Here is how Match Day #44 on June 1st, 2019, unfolded in real time...
First Half
Spoiler
0' | Kickoff Across the League
1' | GOAL! Evandro Delgado! Potters Bar 1, Canvey Island 0
9' | GOAL! Jake Forster-Caskey! Canvey Island 1, Potters Bar 1
15' | GOAL! Jordan Jones! Canvey Island 2, Potters Bar 1
22' | GOAL! Dan Pearse! Grays 1, Coggeshall 0
27' | GOAL! Daniel Akindayini! Witham 1, FC Romania 0
27' | RED CARD! James Fitzgerald! Grays (10 men) 1, Coggeshall 0
42' | GOAL! Jake Forster-Caskey! Canvey Island 3, Potters Bar 1
HALFTIME
An action-packed first 45 minutes around the league. An early Potters Bar goal gave Witham hope of promotion, but Jake Forster-Caskey ripped it way with two goals.
Right now, Coggeshall needs another goal against 10-man Grays to avoid a random league winner tiebreaker with Canvey Island.
Witham has moved up to third place, for whatever that is worth.
Pos
Team
GP
W
L
D
Pts
1
Coggeshall
44
27
9
8
89
2
Canvey Island
44
26
7
11
89
3
Witham
44
26
10
8
86
4
Grays
44
24
7
13
85
5
FC Romania
44
21
10
13
76
Second Half
Spoiler
57' | GOAL! Mark Scorer! Canvey Island 4, Potters Bar 1
89' | GOAL! Daniel Akindayini! Witham 2, FC Romania 0
FINAL WHISTLE! Witham 2, FC Romania 0
Canvey Island 4, Potters Bar 1
Coggeshall 1, Grays (10 men) 1
League Standings (Complete)
Spoiler
*Random Tiebreaker Awards Coggeshall The Title*
Season Overview
Team Leaders
Player Leaders
Team Stats
Evaluation
End of the season, so I get to sit back and relax a little. No training ground.
Plus, I have a very busy cycling schedule for the rest of the month.
What's Next
Contract Talks
(Option 1) Re-sign: Witham has offered 400 euros per month, which would make me the highest paid player on the team, but it's another one-year deal in the same league. The team also wouldn't have a lot of wage cap leftover to pay other players.
(Option 2) Wait: I could let my contract run out in 29 days and become a free agent. It's risk, but I've put together a pretty solid season. Surely I could get a decent offer, maybe even start a bidding war for my services. I could end up anywhere or nowhere.
Nobody guessed Diamond's rating (6.7) in the final game of the season, so everybody has equal say in his fate this offseason.
Very proud of Marcus leading in average rating, metres covered and key passes! A shame the final day wasn't in Witham's favour. Tough choice for me but I'd like to see Diamond stay loyal and close to home, but the offer sounds like disadvantaging for the team even and a chance to move up the pyramid would be lovely seeing as he is fast becoming a CT gun at a young age in his cycling career (surely someone on daily is touting him as the next big thing, a top round pick in 21 and Done for sure...). I'll wait for other opinions on it.
Awesome to see this back Just in time to have a few episodes before awards?
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
PCM.Daily NFL Fantasy Football Champion: 2012 PCM.Daily NHL Prediction Game Champion: 2013 PCM.Daily NFL Prediction Game Champion: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021
Option 2, Sounds like the team wouldn't have enough left to build a division winning side around him, plus he does seem ready to move up judging by how well he did.
Summary: The peloton was torn apart across each passing of the cobble sectors. Halfway through, the third crossing out of six, only 31 cyclists remained in the lead group with seven morning breakaway riders still looking to stay clear.
The breakaway, however, was caught with 19kms to go on the penultimate time through the cobble section. Some of the favourites tried to use the confusion of the catch to launch a winning move.
Too many cyclists had the same idea and a favourites group of 21 cyclists were left in front with the final pass through the cobble section remaining.
Shoulders swaying, legs cramping. Fatigue was easy to spot. Had all the favourites played their cards too soon? Wait a second, a burst of speed at the front.
Somebody still has juice in their legs!
Marcus Diamond is powering forward with a constant tempo. He didn't attack earlier on and has the energy to burn. The only man that can follow is another rather surprise contender from Lotto U23, Stan Dewulf.
They hit the cobbles together for the final time, 5kms left. A gap of 16 seconds has opened up to everyone else behind.
Can the unlikely duo pull off the upset?
Diamond drops Dewulf, a much better sprinter, on the cobbles. But here comes an angry pack. Only 3.5kms to go. No time to look back.
Around a tricky bend, 2kms to go. There is still a tiny gap.
Diamond can't help himself, a peek back between the legs.
Under the banner. 1,000 meters away... Could it be?
Out of the saddle for one final kick!
MARCUS DIAMOND! INCREDIBLE!
A SOLO CONQUEST FOR HIS FIRST CAREER VICTORY!
Result: 1st - An unforgettable moment.
1
Marcus Diamond
JLT Condor
4h43'36
2
Stan Dewulf
Lotto U23
s.t.
3
Justin Jules
WB Aqua Protect Veranclassic
s.t.
4
Frantisek Sisr
W52 FC Porto
s.t.
5
Rasmus Tiller
Joker Icopal
s.t.
Celebration Time!: Things get a little easier once you get that first win. The first member to send a PM to Mresuperstar with a specific cycling stat category (flat, mountain, hill, cobble, etc.) will lower the evolution scaling values of that stat category to make it easier to increase throughout Diamond's career. That stat category will be revealed in the June cycling recap.
I'm still taking votes for what Marcus Diamond should do about his football contract situation. Re-sign (Option 1) or become a free agent (Option 2). Comment below if you haven't already.
My reward for my first career win? A trip to Canada, eh.
Then, back to Belgium and home for the British national championships.
Race Day #12-17 at Tour de Beauce
June 13-18, 2019
My first time ever racing in North America.
Stage 1:
Spoiler
Summary: Boring sprint won by Michael Schwarzmann.
Result: 50th - A quiet stage from me. Saving my energy.
1
Michael Schwarzmann
LKT Team Brandenburg
4h44'00
2
Dusan Rajovic
Sovac - Natura4Ever
s.t.
3
Max Kanter
Development Team Sunweb
s.t.
4
Manuel Porzner
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Mauro Finetto
La Plage Le Club
s.t.
Stage 2:
Spoiler
Summary: Let's jump right into the action. Breakaway rider and King of Mountains leader after Day 1, Quentin Valognes, gets caught by the remaining peloton with only 8kms to go. The climb to the finish awaits.
JLT Condor is calling the shots. Edward Laverack has Marcus Diamond on his wheel and they are challenging anybody to keep up. The favourites have to react.
They do. Laverack's bubble pops, leaving Diamond isolated. Michel Ries launches the first real attack with Javier Moreno, Eduard Prades and Josef Cerny in pursuit.
The cat and mouse games go nowhere. A slow and steady Diamond pedals back up to the front. Who will make the next move? 3.5kms to go.
Diamond's tank is running low with teammate Robbie Hucker by his side. Gone is the possibility of a stage win and the yellow jersey.
Result: 10th - A strong kick at the end nets a Top 10 finish. There was however a 54 second gap given up to the winner's group.
1
Michel Ries
Polartec Kometa
4h32'13
2
Jan Barta
Elkov - Author
s.t.
3
Gavin Mannion
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
4
Mauro Finetto
La Plage Le Club
s.t.
5
Yonder Godoy
Trevigiani Phonix - Hemus 1896
s.t.
Stage 3:
Spoiler
Summary: Down and back from Saint-Prosper to Saint-Prosper. Jan Barta was in a class of his own and decisively took the stage win and yellow jersey.
Result: 18th - Time trails aren't exactly my specialty, but I held my own. I finished 1'29" behind Barta. I also moved up to 9th overall, 2'23" behind Barta.
1
Jan Barta
Elkov - Author
25'10
2
Michel Ries
Polartec Kometa
+ 24
3
Gavin Mannion
UnitedHealthcare
+ 34
4
Javier Moreno
La Plage Le Club
+ 36
5
Johannes Schinnagel
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 48
Stage 4:
Spoiler
Summary: A very short (78.1kms) hilly stage. The tension was high right from the start. But it was always going to be group sprint up the final climb that would decided the victor.
Marcus Diamond made sure of this by pacing the peloton himself heading into the final kilometers. He was more content to prevent gaps than the stage win.
Result: 10th - Did what I needed to do to secure a Top 10 GC finish. I couldn't outsprint the top guys so I made sure nobody could slip away.
1
Javier Moreno
La Plage Le Club
1h54'38
2
Michael Schwarzmann
LKT Team Brandenburg
s.t.
3
Michel Ries
Polartec Kometa
s.t.
4
Joao Almeida
Efapel
s.t.
5
Mauro Finetto
La Plage Le Club
s.t.
Stage 5:
Spoiler
Summary: Wind them up and let them go. A sprinter's delight.
Result: 7th - Not the fastest, but a good sprint nonetheless.
1
Mauro Finetto
La Plage Le Club
1h33'07
2
Eduard Prades
Efapel
s.t.
3
Michael Schwarzmann
LKT Team Brandenburg
s.t.
4
Evaldas Siskevicius
La Plage Le Club
s.t.
5
Dusan Rajovic
Sovac - Natura4Ever
s.t.
Stage 6:
Spoiler
Summary: A tricky circuit has the peloton cut to 27 cyclists with 12kms to go. Seventh in GC, Yonder Godoy, decides now is a good time to make his move.
It's unsuccessful. Here goes Gavin Mannion (3rd overall) and Johannes Schinnagel (5th overall). JLT Condor with Marcus Diamond has taken up the pace making responsibilities.
The final climb and the duo is staying clear. Diamond is running out of energy.
Schinnagel takes the win, but the man behind him, Gavin Mannion, is more excited. The American overtakes Jan Barta with a 34 second gap to win the GC on the last stage. Eduard Prades bridged the gap to finish third and move up a few spots in GC as well.
Barta can't believe it when he crosses the line. Tough way to lose a six-day tour.
Result: 7th - Gave everything I had and still lose a GC spot at the end of the day to Eduard Prades. I finish 10th overall (+2'28"), but third in the youth standings (+1'56").
1
Johannes Schinnagel
Tirol Cycling Team
3h16'34
2
Gavin Mannion
UnitedHealthcare
s.t.
3
Eduard Prades
Efapel
s.t.
4
Jan Barta
Elkov - Author
+ 34
5
Delio Fernández
La Plage Le Club
s.t.
General Classification
1
Gavin Mannion
UnitedHealthcare
16h26'08
2
Jan Barta
Elkov - Author
+ 8
3
Michel Ries
Polartec Kometa
+ 32
4
Johannes Schinnagel
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 34
5
Javier Moreno
La Plage Le Club
+ 44
6
Mauro Finetto
La Plage Le Club
+ 1'44
7
Yonder Godoy
Trevigiani Phonix
+ 2'09
8
Eduard Prades
Efapel
+ 2'16
9
Rubén Zepuntke
LKT Team Brandenburg
+ 2'27
10
Marcus Diamond
JLT Condor
+ 2'28
Race Day #18 at I.W.T. Jong Maar Moedig
June 27, 2019
Cobbles before the NC champs? Not smart, but what the hell.
Spoiler
Summary: Pure torture, then the racing picks up. Major favourite Piet Allegaert sets off on a long distance strike with 37kms left. There are still 12 morning breakaway riders a minute up the road and the remaining peloton doesn't seem to like this strong man move.
It goes nowhere. Now 10kms to go, Allegaert has been pacing a lot and is asking for some help. There are still numerous breakaway riders up the road. The leaders maintain a two-minute gap. This one is starting to slip away from the favourites.
Some pacing from Diamond cuts the gap and the Brit's energy. Pieter Vanspeybrouck and Frederik Backaert from team Wanty - Groupe Gobert say thank you very much and take off with 6.5kms to go. There is only one breakaway rider left to catch now, 30 seconds up the road.
Diamond has basically died. Reports in front say the winner will be decided in a sprint.
Everyone is caught in the final kilometers, making for a hectic sprint. The man who saved his energy, Andre Looij from Monkey Town, shows off his kick after surviving the cobbles. He played his cards right.
Result: 19th - Need oxygen...
1
André Looij
Monkey Town
4h53'43
2
Kristoffer Skjerping
Joker Icopal
s.t.
3
Rasmus Tiller
Joker Icopal
s.t.
4
Piet Allegaert
Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
5
Pieter Vanspeybrouck
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
Race Day #19 at Great Britain ITT Championships
June 28, 2019
Shocked myself with 15th last year. Legs sore after yesterday.
Spoiler
Summary: Geraint Thomas wins back-to-back ITT titles.
Result: 31st - A dark and gloomy day. Not a fun ride. Nearly six minutes behind Geraint Thomas. Also, starting right before Chris Froome in the start house was demoralizing when he passed me 8kms into the stage.
Hopeful for a better showing in my first NC RR in three days.
1
Geraint Thomas
Team Sky
51'47
2
Alex Dowsett
Team Katusha Alpecin
+ 6
3
Chris Froome
Team Sky
+ 54
4
Adam Yates
Michelton - Scott
+ 1'21
5
Simon Yates
Michelton - Scott
+ 1'23
Calendar
Spoiler
Date
Race
Winner
2-Jun
Heistse Pijl
Moreno Hofland
3-Jun
Gran Premio Città di Lugano
Esteban Chaves
3-Jun
Critérium du Dauphiné
Chris Froome
4-Jun
Memorial Philippe van Coningsloo
Marcus Diamond
7-Jun
GP du Canton d'Argovie
Stefan Küng
8-Jun
Oberösterreichrundfahrt
Javier Moreno
9-Jun
Tour de Suisse
Roman Kreuziger
9-Jun
Tour of Malopolska
Hugo Houle
10-Jun
Ronde van Limburg
Diego Ulissi
10-Jun
Rund um Köln
Michael Kolar
13-Jun
Ster ZLM Tour
Simon Geschke
13-Jun
Tour de Beauce
Gavin Mannion
13-Jun
Tour of Slovenia
Patrick Konrad
14-Jun
Route d'Occitanie
Mathias Le Turnier
15-Jun
Dwars door het Hageland - Aarschot
André Looij
16-Jun
Fyen Rundt
Eduard-Michael Grosu
17-Jun
Elfstedenronde
Enric Mas
17-Jun
GP Horsens Posten
Patrick Konrad
19-Jun
Halle - Ingooigem
Michael Storer
20-Jun
Adriatica Ionica Race
Jack Haig
27-Jun
I.W.T. Jong Maar Moedig
André Looij
28-Jun
Belgian Championships (ITT)
Yves Lampaert
28-Jun
Danish Championships (ITT)
Mads Würtz Schmidt
28-Jun
Portuguese Championships (ITT)
Nelson Oliveira
28-Jun
Polish Championships (ITT)
Maciej Bodnar
28-Jun
Dutch Championships (ITT)
Tom Dumoulin
28-Jun
French Championships (ITT)
Alexandre Geniez
28-Jun
German Championships (ITT)
Emanuel Buchmann
28-Jun
Austrian Championships (ITT)
Felix Grosschartner
28-Jun
Slovenian Championships (ITT)
Primož Roglič
28-Jun
Norwegian Championships (ITT)
Andreas Leknessund
28-Jun
Kazakh Championships (ITT)
Alexey Lutsenko
28-Jun
Irish Championships (ITT)
Ryan Mullen
28-Jun
Canadian Championships (ITT)
Sergio Samuel
28-Jun
USA Championships (ITT)
Chad Haga
28-Jun
Italian Championships (ITT)
Elvino Porcari
28-Jun
Russian Championships (ITT)
Sergey Firsanov
28-Jun
Swiss Championships (ITT)
Gino Mäder
28-Jun
Great Britain Championships (ITT)
Geraint Thomas
28-Jun
Ukrainian Championships (ITT)
Andriy Grivko
28-Jun
Spanish Championships (ITT)
Jonathan Castroviejo
28-Jun
Slovak Championships (ITT)
Peter Sagan
28-Jun
Czech Championships (ITT)
Zdenek Stybar
1-Jul
Danish Championships
Jakob Fuglsang
1-Jul
Swiss Championships
Kilian Frankiny
1-Jul
Kazakh Championships
1-Jul
Canadian Championships
1-Jul
Norwegian Championships
1-Jul
USA Championships
Brandon McNulty
1-Jul
Russian Championships
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
1-Jul
Portuguese Championships
André Cardoso
1-Jul
Polish Championships
Łukasz Wiśniowski
1-Jul
Czech Championships
Zdenek Stybar
1-Jul
Ukrainian Championships
Mark Padun
1-Jul
Great Britain Championships
Marcus Diamond In
1-Jul
Irish Championships
1-Jul
Slovenian Championships
1-Jul
Italian Championships
1-Jul
Slovak Championships
1-Jul
French Championships
1-Jul
Austrian Championships
1-Jul
Spanish Championships
1-Jul
Belgian Championships
1-Jul
Course Cycliste de Solidarnosc
1-Jul
German Championships
1-Jul
Dutch Championships
4-Jul
Sibiu Cycling Tour
Marcus Diamond In
6-Jul
GP Internacional Torres Vedras
7-Jul
Tour de France
7-Jul
Int. Österreich Rundfahrt
8-Jul
White Spot / Delta Road Race
15-Jul
Tour of Qinghai Lake
25-Jul
Grand Prix Cerami
25-Jul
Prueba Villafranca-Ordiziako Klasika
26-Jul
La Tour Alsace
27-Jul
VOO-Tour de Wallonie
29-Jul
GP Kranj
Marcus Diamond In
31-Jul
Circuito de Getxo Memorial Ricardo Otxoa
31-Jul
Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic
Evaluation
Training Ride *Community Growth Development*
Spoiler
- Each member gets 3.0 points to spread however they like over the 13 attributes listed above. One post per member.
- Stats work on a decimal system starting at 55.0.
- Stats are bumped up in PCM when they hit that number, ex. 55.9 = 55 in-game, and 61.4 = 61 stat in-game.
- The decimal numbers will remain hidden.
- There is a threshold for each stat when more points are needed to increase that stat. It's start off on a 1-to-1 scale where 1 point equals 1 stat upgrade. However, the scales get exponentially further and further apart the closer that stat gets to the maximum of 85. The increasing scale will also remain a mystery.
- Comment below to provide stat upgrades
Celebration Time! (Reveal): Thanks to jandal7, upgrading Diamond's Resistance stat will be a little bit easier from now on.
Football Contract Talks: After much deliberation, Diamond has decided to wait out his contract and become a free agent. He anxiously awaits seeing what offers he can attract. He can also start receiving cycling contract offers for next season as well. Exciting times ahead.
I've spent the month of July gathering up all my offers. Now, it's time to make a decision. I've laid out all my options below for next season. Help me decide.
The future of my football and cycling careers are hanging in the balance.
Option #1: Re-United Kingdom
Canvey Island & JLT Condor
Overview
Canvey Islands is offering a return home. A year after Marcus Diamond jumped ship, his hometown club now has the funds to bring back the local talent after promoting to the sixth tier of the English football pyramid. The Gulls will also have some extra cash to spend with golden boy Jake Forster-Caskey testing the free agent market, which leaves a gaping hole in the midfield that needs to be filled.
JLT Condor matches Canvey Island, offering a one-year extension.
Option #2: United Stone Kingdom
Maidstone United & JLT Condor
Overview
Maidstone United in the sixth tier of the English football pyramid is a 50-minute drive south of Canvey Island, over the River Thames. They finished fourth in the league last season, narrowly missing promotion. A high quality team that appears to be on its way up and is willing to invest heavily in Marcus Diamond. That said, getting playing time might be a challenge, especially right away.
JLT Condor matches Maidstone United, offering a one-year extension.
Option #3: Relocating United Kingdom
Salford City & ONE Pro Cycling
Overview
Salford City in the fifth tier of the English football pyramid is northeast of Liverpool and is one of the biggest cities without a top level football team. That nearly changed last year when Salford City came two points short of promoting into the Sky Bet League Two. Breaking into the Starting XI will be a challenge for Marcus Diamond, but the exposure playing for club owners Peter Lim, Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs can't be beat.
Moving further north would mean a cycling team change. ONE Pro Cycling, a United Kingdom based CT team, has been in the media recently about having financial trouble. It's a shaky situation, but they still believe they will secure the funds to support a cycling team next season. I trust them.
Option #4: Irish Aqua Blue
Limerick FC & Aqua Blue Sport
Overview
The first overseas offer. Limerick FC plays in the Irish first division, the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division. They have won the league twice (1959-60, 1979-80) and the League of Ireland Cup three times (1975-76, 1992-93 and 2001-02). But, haven't had much success lately and are willing to take a chance on Marcus Diamond, who would have to get used to a different style of football.
Irish based PCT cycling team, Aqua Blue Sport, is also facing financial difficulties and could have a new lead sponsorship when the next season starts. But, there are plenty of Brits already on the team: Adam Blythe, Andrew Fenn, Ian Bibby and Mark Christian. All of which have their contracts expiring this year, so who knows who comes back.
Option #5: Export to France/Belgium
KSV Roeselare & Cofidis
Overview
Winning in Belgium a few weeks ago turned some heads. Pro Tour cycling team Cofidis, in the midst of a relegation battle, is interested in the upcoming British cobbler. It would likely be a few years of development before they would let Marcus Diamond lead his own cobble team. But, they have superior training facilities to help Marcus reach his full potential.
After asking around for a football team, Marcus Diamond heard back from KSV Roeselare. A Belgium club in the second tier Proximus League. Not many players are on the team and they only play 28 games per season.
Contracts
Wage/per month
Years
Bonuses
Option 1
Canvey Island
550 euros
1
50 per goal/assist
JLT Condor
3000 euros
1
100 per stage win
Option 2
Maidstone United
3500 euros
1
n/a
JLT Condor
3000 euros
1
100 per stage win
Option 3
Salford City
2750 euros
2
50 per appearance
ONE Pro Cycling
2500 euros
1
n/a
Option 4
Limerick FC
2000 euros
2
100 per goal/assist
Aqua Blue Sport
2750 euros
2
n/a
Option 5
KSV Roeselare
700 euros
1
n/a
Cofidis
4500 euros
3
5000 per stage win
Decision Time: Rank all five offers in the comments below. First pick gets five points, second gets four points, third gets three points, fourth gets two points and fifth gets a point. Whichever offer ends up with the most points will be what Marcus Diamond choose to do.
Cycling upgrades will still be accepted at this time.
Marcus Diamond has taken too long to make a decision and received some news today that Option #5 from KSV Roeselare and Cofidis has been withdrawn with Cofidis spending its money on another promising prospect.
Now, only four options remain and if Diamond keeps stalling, then it's safe to assume more teams will take their offers off the table as well.
Help Diamond make his decision by ranking all the remaining options. Top pick gets five points, second gets four, third gets three and fourth gets two.
The time has also passed to provide cycling training upgrades.
Option 4 Probably not the most interesting deal, financially talking, but securing the future for 2 seasons, despite having to go to Ireland, though playing in the First Division. And Aqua Blue despite financial difficulties, but it's a PCT team that might get you some WT wildcards
Option 3 Going to 5th tier could be interesting. And 1-year contract in cycling, where i guess it's easier for Marcus to get to a better team in the future
Option 2 The best deal, money talking. Though staying another year in 6th level maybe isn't the best. And i think you've had enough of JTL
PCM.Daily NFL Fantasy Football Champion: 2012 PCM.Daily NHL Prediction Game Champion: 2013 PCM.Daily NFL Prediction Game Champion: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2021
A decision has been made. I'll be packing my bags and heading to Ireland after my season with JLT Condor wraps up. I've accepted two-year deals with Aqua Blue Sport and Limerick FC, which will pay a combined 4,750 euros per month plus a bonus of 100 euros for every goal and assist I can get with the football club.
Limerick FC is currently in the middle of its 2019 season, which runs from February to October. I've been told to join the team at the start of the 2020 season in January that way I have some time to figure out my work visa (Great Britain just had to leave the EU) and my passport situation. Gotta love paperwork.
Aqua Blue Sport is still actively trying to secure funding for next season. Hopefully that situation is resolved sooner rather than later. I guess all I can do now is finish out the season with JLT Condor and see what happens.
Lastly, to my fans, thanks for all the support. These last two years have been crazy. I can't wait to see what Season 3 has in store for me on foreign soil.
Some day, hopefully soon, the month of July will be filled with 21 glorious race days through the streets of France. Until then, I'm stuck with a trip to Romania and Slovenia after racing in my first road race national championship.
Race Day #20 at Great Britain RR Championships
July 1, 2019
All the best Brits fighting for a fancy jersey on a flat circuit.
Spoiler
Summary: Marcus Diamond... the Team Sky destroyer.
With 27kms left, a tight bend catches Diamond off guard and he body checks Luke Rowe off his bike. It causes a nasty crash behind, whipping out nearly the whole peloton. It's absolute carnage. And yet, somehow Diamond stays upright on his bike and rides away.
What an awkward situation to be in. It doesn't seem right to ride away, but there are still three breakaway riders up the road gunning for a national title and Diamond is now in the mix to win his first national championship at only 19 years old.
Surrounded in a crowd of controversy. Diamond pushes on.
Simon Yates goes with Diamond and the duo catches the last two breakaway riders, Alex Dowsett and Daniel McLay, with 22.4kms to go. What's left of the 28-cyclist peloton is a minute in the rear view mirror. Unconfirmed reports say heavy favourite Mark Cavendish isn't in the group and was taken down in the crash.
The lead group of four is kind of working well together, but the angry peloton is closing in. The gap is 40 seconds with 14kms remaining. It is a slight downhill into the finish, however, which could hinder the catch.
Harry Tanfield from Team Wiggins bridges across the gap with 11.5kms to go. But, he looks exhausted when he reaches the tail end of the line.
The leaders have built up a minute gap again. But, no time to start playing games with each other. The peloton is still lurking.
Down to 10kms to go, it appears the peloton doesn't know what to do. Nobody wants to pace and the five leaders now have a gap of 1'45".
Diamond starts sizing up his competitors.
McLay is by far the better sprinter, but has been up front for a while. Yates has experience and is probably the most talented. Dowsett could ride away with his TT abilities if we let him. And Tanfield looks happy just to be along for the ride.
Yates starts to sit up and rest, Diamond does the same.
Let the games begin. 7kms to go, the gap to peloton sits at 1'50".
5kms to go. The peloton has given up, over two minutes back.
One of these five are going to Great Britain RR national champion.
Diamond positions himself between McLay (pink) and Yates (black) with 3.5kms to go. Tanfield is content to pace the group, what a nice lad. He is happy with a Top 5 at this point.
Tanfield starts the sprint with 2kms to go.
Who makes the first move out of his slipstream?
Nobody wants to make the first move! 1,000 meters left...
McLay makes his move around a fading Tanfield, and Yates launches from the back. Diamond could get squeezed in if he isn't careful.
Yep, as expected Diamond's large frame gets boxed for a moment and ruins his momentum. Yates storms to the lead. Can anybody catch him?
No... Simon Yates wins the sprint for a national championship ahead of McLay, Dowsett, Diamond and Tanfield.
Result: DQ - Sprinting for fourth place meant nothing.
After the race I was dragged off to meet the race organizers, they promptly disqualified me for causing the crash with 27kms to go. I get it, yet Yates attacked right after the crash and gets rewarded with a national title? Doesn't really seem fair, if you ask me.
1
Simon Yates
Michelton - Scott
4h54'51
2
Daniel McLay
Team EF Education First
s.t.
3
Alex Dowsett
Team Katusha Alpecin
s.t.
DQ
Marcus Diamond
JLT Condor
s.t.
5
Harry Tanfield
Team Wiggins
s.t.
Race Day #21-25 at Sibiu Cycling Tour
July 4-8, 2019
A mountain/time trial test, punishment for my last race?
Stage 1:
Spoiler
Summary: A large crowd turns out to see the short prologue. Hundredths of a second are needed to decide a winner with 25 cyclists finishing within one second of first place. Dutchman Steven Lammertink nicked everybody.
Result: 93rd - Not very comfortable with prologues yet, but at least they don't cost me much time. I finish six seconds back.
1
Steven Lammertink
Vital Concept Cycling Club
2'36
2
Michal Golas
Amore & Vita - Prodir
s.t.
3
Daryl Impey
Michelton - Scott
s.t.
4
Sasha Weemaes
Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
5
Oscar Rodriguez
Euskadi Basque Country - Murias
s.t.
Stage 2:
Spoiler
Summary: A long day in the saddle gets settled in a close sprint.
78 out of the 140 cyclists finish in the front group after a crash in the back of the pack with 16kms to go. Two cyclists had to withdraw.
Result: 11th - I just followed the wheel of my Danish teammate August Jensen and nearly got a Top 10 result. Jensen took ninth.
1
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
Akros - Renfer SA
4h33'47
2
Amaury Capiot
Team Sunweb
s.t.
3
Jérémy Lecroq
Vital Concept Cycling Club
s.t.
4
Mamyr Stash
Gazprom - RusVelo
s.t.
5
Mauro Finetto
La Plage Le Club
s.t.
Stage 3:
Spoiler
Summary: As expected, it comes down to the final climb. 18kms of pure torture. Keep up or be dropped.
Marcus Diamond either doesn't like the pace being set or is having a really bad day. He is off the back with 8kms to go. Hanging on his coat tails is the yellow jersey holder Vyacheslav Kuznetsov.
Up front, a three-horse race is won by the new American sensation Brandon McNulty. The 21-year-old USA NC RR champ edges out Jack Haig and Tao Geoghegan Hart.
The next group is two and a half minutes down the road...
Here they come, and would you like at that. Somebody played us as a fool and was just pacing himself.
Result: 13th - The tempo was too high from the start of the climb, so I backed off and slow picked people off as they cracked. I'm happy with the result. Always a tense time to purposefully let the front of the pack ride away from you and hope you'll see them again. I lost 2'59" on McNulty and moved up to 13th in GC — 21 seconds outside of the Top 10.
1
Brandon McNulty
Rally Cycling
5h25'18
2
Jack Haig
Michelton - Scott
+ 7
3
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Amore & Vita - Prodir
s.t.
4
Enric Mas
Team Lotto NL - Jumbo
+ 2'05
5
Ivan Sosa
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
Stage 4:
Spoiler
Summary: The Brit overthrows the American. Tao Geoghegan Hart dominates for the stage win and moves into yellow, ahead of Jack Haig with Brandon McNulty dropping to third overall with a poor ride today.
Marcus Diamond also had a day to forget, but at least the view was nice.
Result: 87th - Not my specialty. I got passed by Ben King with 2kms left in the stage. I was already a minute back at the time check. The end result had me losing 3'28" to Hart and fall to 19th in the GC, +6'29".
1
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Amore & Vita - Prodir
19'47
2
Mikel Nieve
Michelton - Scott
+ 14
3
Valerio Conti
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 18
4
Jack Haig
Michelton - Scott
+ 26
5
Ivan Sosa
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 29
Stage 5:
Spoiler
Summary: Let's wrap this tour up with a boring bunch sprint. Wait, hold on. The Michelton-Scott train with Luka Mezgec and Mihkel Raim have opened a gap at the front. Marcus Diamond is with them as well.
After controlling a large breakaway and a couple days of climbs, the sprint trains have fluffed this finish. Michelton-Scott has pulled a fast one on everyone except an alert Marcus Diamond.
A shocking win for Luka Mezgec.
Michelton-Scott makes it a double, as Mihkel Raim barely holds off Diamond and the angry peloton.
Result: 3rd - Didn't expect that. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Luka hit another gear and I reacted out of instincts. I was surprised when nobody jumped on my wheel. But, we went with it and it worked, somehow. I also got a 13-second gap to the peloton for my efforts, which moved me up one spot to finish 18th in GC.
1
Luka Mezgec
Michelton - Scott
3h35'03
2
Mihkel Räim
Michelton - Scott
+ 11
3
Marcus Diamond
JLT Condor
s.t.
4
Mauro Finetto
La Plage Le Club
+ 24
5
Jérémy Lecroq
Vital Concept Cycling Club
s.t.
General Classification
1
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Amore & Vita - Prodir
13h56'59
2
Jack Haig
Michelton - Scott
+ 26
3
Brandon McNulty
Rally Cycling
+ 34
4
Ivan Sosa
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 2'35
5
Jai Hindley
Team Sunweb
+ 2'45
Race Day #26 at GP Kranj
July 29, 2019
After a couple weeks off to spectate the TDF, it's back to work.
Spoiler
Summary: Sunny, nice day for a bunch sprint.
Photo finish belongs to Sisr Frantisek by a couple inches over JLT Condor's August Jensen.
Result: 54th - Legs didn't feel the best after the little break. I tried to get in the breakaway, but failed. So, I got stuck doing work at the front of the peloton to bring the breakaway back, which we did with 20kms to go. Gave our guys a shot to win, and Jensen nearly did.
1
Frantisek Sisr
W52 FC Porto
4h51'57
2
August Jensen
JLT Condor
s.t.
3
Jonathan Lastra
Efapel
s.t.
4
Rachid Ben Attar
Meridiana Kamen Team
s.t.
5
Evaldas Siskevicius
La Plage Le Club
s.t.
Calendar
Spoiler
Date
Race
Winner
1-Jul
Danish Championships
Jakob Fuglsang
1-Jul
Swiss Championships
Kilian Frankiny
1-Jul
Kazakh Championships
Alexey Lutsenko
1-Jul
Canadian Championships
Guillaume Boivin
1-Jul
Norwegian Championships
E. Boasson Hagen
1-Jul
USA Championships
Brandon McNulty
1-Jul
Russian Championships
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
1-Jul
Portuguese Championships
André Cardoso
1-Jul
Polish Championships
Łukasz Wiśniowski
1-Jul
Czech Championships
Zdenek Stybar
1-Jul
Ukrainian Championships
Mark Padun
1-Jul
Great Britain Championships
Simon Yates
1-Jul
Irish Championships
Sam Bennett
1-Jul
Slovenian Championships
Simon Spilak
1-Jul
Italian Championships
Moreno Moser
1-Jul
Slovak Championships
Peter Sagan
1-Jul
French Championships
Thomas Boudat
1-Jul
Austrian Championships
Marco Haller
1-Jul
Spanish Championships
Gorka Izagirre
1-Jul
Belgian Championships
Edward Theuns
1-Jul
Champions Olympiques
Ziga Groselj
1-Jul
German Championships
Marcel Kittel
1-Jul
Dutch Championships
Sam Oomen
4-Jul
Sibiu Cycling Tour
Tao Geoghegan Hart
6-Jul
GP Internacional Torres Vedras
Michel Ries
7-Jul
Tour de France
Egan Arley Bernal
7-Jul
Int. Österreich Rundfahrt
Niklas Eg
8-Jul
White Spot / Delta Road Race
Michael Schwarzmann
15-Jul
Tour of Qinghai Lake
Søren Kragh Andersen
25-Jul
Grand Prix Cerami
Wouter Wippert
25-Jul
Prueba Villafranca
Carlos Betancur
26-Jul
La Tour Alsace
Gavin Mannion
27-Jul
VOO-Tour de Wallonie
Michał Kwiatkowski
29-Jul
GP Kranj
Frantisek Sisr
31-Jul
CdG Memorial Ricardo Otxoa
Mikel Aristi
31-Jul
RideLondon-Surrey Classic
Hugo Hofstetter
1-Aug
PostNord Danmark Rundt
1-Aug
Volta a Portugal
4-Aug
Hansa Bygg Kalmar Road Race
Marcus Diamond In
4-Aug
Tour de Pologne
4-Aug
Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian
5-Aug
La Poly Normande
6-Aug
The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah
7-Aug
Vuelta a Burgos
9-Aug
Czech Cycling Tour
11-Aug
KOGA Slag om Norg
13-Aug
BinckBank Tour
15-Aug
Tour du Limousin
16-Aug
Arctic Race of Norway
16-Aug
Colorado Pro Classic
19-Aug
EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg
21-Aug
Baltic Chain Tour
Marcus Diamond In
21-Aug
GP Stad Zottegem
22-Aug
Arnhem-Veenendaal Classic
23-Aug
Deutschland Tour
25-Aug
Vuelta a España
25-Aug
Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde
25-Aug
Bretagne Classic-Ouest France
26-Aug
Ronde van Midden Nederland
26-Aug
Croatia-Slovenia
29-Aug
Druivenkoers - Overijse
Tour de France
1
Egan Arley Bernal
Team Sky
+00:00
2
Miguel Angel Lopez
Astana Pro Team
+01:17
3
Chris Froome
Team Sky
+02:48
4
Richie Porte
BMC Racing Team
+03:39
5
Kilian Frankiny
Quick-Step Floors
+04:02
6
Bob Jungels
Quick-Step Floors
+04:51
7
Wout Poels
Team Sky
+05:30
8
Michael Woods
AG2R La Mondiale
+06:56
9
Geraint Thomas
Team Sky
+06:59
10
Daniel Martin
UAE Team Emirates
+07:01
Colombian climbers are taking over the Tour. Youngster Egan Arley Bernal upsets defending champion Miguel Angel Lopez with the help of super teammate Chris Froome. Team Sky takes two spots on the podium, and four inside the Top 10.
Peter Sagan wins four stages and regains the green jersey after finishing second in the points competition in 2018.
Evaluation
Training Ride *Community Growth Development*
Spoiler
- Each member gets 3.0 points to spread however they like over the 13 attributes listed above. One post per member.
- Stats work on a decimal system starting at 55.0.
- Stats are bumped up in PCM when they hit that number, ex. 55.9 = 55 in-game, and 61.4 = 61 stat in-game.
- The decimal numbers will remain hidden.
- There is a threshold for each stat when more points are needed to increase that stat. It's start off on a 1-to-1 scale where 1 point equals 1 stat upgrade. However, the scales get exponentially further and further apart the closer that stat gets to the maximum of 85. The increasing scale will also remain a mystery.
- Comment below to provide stat upgrades
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Just in time to have a few episodes before awards? 
Memorial Philippe van Coningsloo
Tour de Beauce
Great Britain ITT Championships
Sibiu Cycling Tour
GP Kranj
